by Greg Chase
Jess sucked in a deep breath. “You may be right, Luther. Insane.”
The man at the controls gave her a one-syllable chuckle. “Wait for it.”
From every line of shuttles headed to the various moons, ships began breaking ranks. With engines pressed to their breaking points, the small craft dove past the guard ship like flies harassing an elephant. No shots were fired, but the game of chicken drew the larger gunship off its station.
Luther pressed his ship forward to join in the fray. “I doubt the gunners in that ship even know how to pull a trigger. I put out a challenge on the pirate web for daredevils to prove their worth. We’ve been harassing these satellites daily since you requested my services.”
Jess watched one particularly acrobatic craft dip and weave around the threatening monster ship. “And they won’t get shot into a zillion little pieces?”
Luther shook his head. “The corporations don’t want the bad press. They control the flow of information, of course, but somehow, news still leaks out.” The pirate gave Jess a wink, indicating he had some firsthand knowledge of how that happened. “They’ll discount the event as kids being mischievous. We’ve made sure enough online chatter was created to back up the story. Better button up that space outfit—we’re only going to get one shot at this.”
“Speaking of space gear, have you ever found yourself floating out there in something like this?”
“Once. I can’t recommend it. Pull the face shield tight under the hood. You don’t want any gaps—found that out the hard way.”
Luther gave Jess’s equipment a final once-over, making sure she would survive her short trip in space. “I’ll aim you at the access port and blow the hatch to the air lock. The moment you leave the ship, your space leathers will contract around you. It’s normal but terrifying. Try not to panic. The outfit is just protecting you from the ravages of space decompression. Once you can breathe again, the fabric of your garment will filter out the carbon and return you the oxygen. There’s also a small canister of supplemental air in your right boot. All you need to worry about is focusing on the access hatch, and small thrusters in your boots will do the rest. Understand?”
Jess nodded. She’d been over the protocol a hundred times. Every person or Tobe seemed intent on making sure she understood what she was in for during the short trip. Unfortunately, none of them could tell her what to expect once she opened the satellite’s hatch.
“I can’t wait around for you. It’d look too suspicious. Best I can do is a fly by every five minutes. Don’t jump out of the satellite until you see the bottom of my ship. You don’t want to get caught up on one of the projections.”
Great, one more life-threatening action to avoid.
Luther punched the controls to follow a bright, shiny single-person shuttle not much larger than a well-networked modern spacesuit. “Get in the air lock. Once we’re in position, I’ll slam it open. The escaping air should give you a good boost.”
Jess squeezed into the small tube, trying hard to focus only on the task at hand. One thing at a time. Kwame’s computer screen nestled against her stomach. Connecting the device would be the easy part. She closed her eyes tight again, trying not to anticipate problems she had no control over.
One instant, the heavy round metal disk was over her head. The next, there was nothing but open space. Her body shot out the opening so fast she stretched out straight without noticing. Look up. You have to look where you’re going. Craning her head took every bit of flexibility she had in her neck and spine. For way too long a moment, all she could make out was the blackness of space. By the time she thought to breathe, the space leathers had let up on their iron grasp of her body. Her arms and legs wanted to flail at the vast emptiness. But maneuvering in a weightless environment wasn’t new. She’d spent twenty years living in Leviathan’s agro pod. Don’t panic. She rotated her neck and finally locked eyes on the satellite and its round access hatch. Her legs straightened, and she pointed her toes. Vibrations from the small booster rockets made her view of the hatch fuzzy, but determinedly, she kept staring at it. When she was less than a body’s length from the satellite, she reached forward to grab the hatch’s handles.
There was no lock. How the Moons of Jupiter had managed to redirect the satellites without anyone setting foot on one was only another in the long list of mysteries. But they also hadn’t been able to secure the floating stations from intruders. Jess braced her feet against the side handles and pulled hard at the latch. It took two firm tugs to release the heavy metal door.
Jess summersaulted through the opening, pulling on the door handle behind her. All around her, illuminated buttons of red and yellow punctuated the interior darkness of the human-sized tin can. She swung around one hundred eighty degrees, looking for the main computer.
Glowing bloodred eyes accompanied a disembodied scream. Jess backed away, but there was nowhere to go. Her hands grasped for something to hold onto as her back pressed hard against the myriad of dials and switches that lined the wall.
“Get out. This is my space, and you are not welcome.” The words echoed in the small chamber, punctuated by another scream that left Jess reeling.
It had to be a Tobe. That was how the Moons had managed to redirect the satellites. This poor soul had been sacrificed to achieve the ultimate in greed. “I’m here to help you and all of your kind.” Jess hoped it could still hear the voice of reason.
The being slowly took shape. Eyes retreated into a face so tortured with scars its mouth was indistinguishable from the red gashes. What nose there had been appeared as little more than mangled, raw flesh. Jess couldn’t tell if it was male or female, not that the designation would have meant much to someone so misshapen.
“Get out.” Its words were less threatening than before, almost a plea for mercy.
Jess released the mouthpiece from her space leathers. The air in the satellite smelled rank. The craft had been built over a hundred years ago, even before Leviathan. Whatever had decomposed left enough of a pungent aroma to sting her nose and burn her eyes. She had to force her lungs to take in the vile mixture. But the act wasn’t just about needing nonfiltered oxygen. Hopefully, the Tobe would see it as her act of submission. “I’m not leaving until I’ve done what I’ve come here to do. You can help me or sit there in silence. But I warn you, getting in my way will result in the wrath of your god.”
The red eyes moved independently, inspecting her. It took Jess a moment to realize what the being lifted to her face had, at one time, been a hand. She felt the familiar glow of the lens, which hadn’t been active since she’d left Earth. The being’s oozing bloodred aura softened. “You are the wife of Samuel Adamson.”
“I am.”
“You are from Earth?”
“We’ve come out here to reestablish the Moons of Jupiter’s connection to Earth,” Jess said. “We’re also here to free the Moons’ Tobes. To do that, we need a new network—one not controlled by people. Will you help me?”
The being ran what passed for its hands—little more than raw flesh hanging off exposed bones—along the small craft’s controls. “You would free me from this prison cell?”
“If I can. I don’t even know if you’re from Earth’s network or the Moons of Jupiter’s.”
Drops of blood fell from the being’s eyes. “I’m the nowhere man. As the first Tobe of the Moons’ network, I was solar-array based. I killed them. I killed them all…”
Jess reached out to the ragged, bony arm. “Who did you kill?”
Her touch shocked the being out of its condemnation. “My people. All the original solar-array-based Tobes on all of the moons of Jupiter. I am the switch that was thrown.”
“I’m offering you the opportunity to do some good for their children. The moons are filled with Tobes who are in hiding—”
The being’s eyes grew dark with rage. “Don’t tell me about the Tobes of Jupiter. I am their lifeblood. I am the network.”
“Then help me free yo
u all.”
The being moved to the side, revealing the satellite’s computer display. “Where will you begin?”
Jess ran her hand along her stomach, feeling Kwame’s computer screen. Once that was installed, the network would know, and she’d have to leave the satellite. Connecting to Earth had to come first, but how? “I need access to the old solar array.”
“If I move the satellite, the Board of Shadows will know. Think of something else, human.”
The Board of Shadows wasn’t a term Jess had heard before, but the idea wasn’t a surprise. Sixty moons, each its own corporation, wouldn’t remain a united entity if it weren’t for some governing force. “Can you make contact with Earth without moving this satellite?”
“I can, but it would be through the pirates. Most people prefer not to deal with them.”
“We have friends among the pirates,” Jess said. “Though I wouldn’t know how to contact them without drawing unwanted attention.”
Illuminated buttons in the cabin changed colors. The view screen crackled to life, displaying signal strength and possible links. And Jess’s odd host began speaking in what sounded like gibberish. He’s lost what’s left of his mind. And I’m stuck out here at the mercy of his insanity. But to her amazement, he received similar gibberish responses.
Two switches flipped on next to the computer screen. The being turned away from Jess for the first time, revealing the gaping hole at the base of his skull, and spoke to the screen. “This is Jupiter One-One-Four for Rendition. Come in, Rendition.”
Joshua’s familiar face filled the computer screen. Thank God. “This is Rendition. I show you as the pirate outpost Priamus. Please state your business.”
Despite all of Sam and Jess’s connections among the pirates, Sam’s assistant, Joshua, had never warmed to the renegades. Jess could hear the disgust in his voice.
The being floated clear of the view screen, allowing Jess to transmit her face to Joshua. “It’s me, Josh. I’m on one of the hijacked satellites. The only way to reach you was through the pirate outpost.”
Shock wasn’t something the Tobes often showed, but Jess was certain Joshua was about to float off his seat at seeing her. It took less than a second for his sister, Ellie, to join them, along with Ed, the family’s Tobe bodyguard. “We can’t tell you how good it is to see you. If you give us a minute, we’ll get Sara and Emily.”
Jess shook her head. “Don’t do that. I’m still in a lot of danger, and I can’t handle having to deal with any strong emotions right now. I don’t have a lot of time. We’re still working on freeing the Tobes out here. Setting up a new network with these old satellites is part of the plan. We also wanted to make sure you had a contact out here. I’m afraid this is the best we can do at the moment. Repositioning the satellites is too risky.”
Joshua leaned in. “I understand. Let me talk to Jupiter One-One-Four.”
Jess hadn’t thought to ask her host’s original name. She wondered if he even had one or if that had been stripped from him like his flesh. All three Tobes on Earth cowered away from the computer screen as Jupiter One-One-Four replaced Jess at the controls. With the speed typical of computer-based entities, the conversation lasted only a couple of seconds.
“That’s all you can tell us?” Joshua’s tone of frustration caused Jess to return to the screen.
“You seem to think we all share information out here.” Jupiter One-One-Four’s cold response sent a shiver down Jess’s spine.
Ellie put a hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “We’d just hoped for more information. My brother didn’t mean to cause offense.”
“To learn about the moon-suns, you need to contact corporations devoted to their development,” Jupiter One-One-Four said. “Currently, Praxidike is the leading mining-and-processing firm. But anyone, human or Tobe, would have to be out of their mind to visit that moon.”
As if traveling unprotected in space weren’t bad enough. But Jess did her best to focus on the task at hand. The next moon would have to wait. “If you’ve gotten what you can, Joshua, I need to get back to work.”
“Of course. We don’t want you out on that satellite a moment longer than necessary. We’ll let Sara and Emily know of your progress.” And with that, the computer screen returned to its dark-gray blankness.
“I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain.” The satellite grew noticeably colder without the Earth Tobes on the monitor.
Jess pulled Kwame’s computer screen out from her jacket. “This will connect to the other solar-array satellites. Any Tobe on one of Jupiter’s moons who wishes can access the new network.”
Jupiter One-One-Four took the device and turned it slowly in its mangled hands. “I’ll see that the new network is kept safe.” He then plugged it into the satellite’s systems.
A firm jolt shook the control room. Jess looked out the small window in the access port. Ships were buzzing the satellite at unnervingly close range. Then the view out the window turned a uniform metal gray as the gunship nearly collided with the tin can Jess had worked so hard to modify. “I need to get out of here.”
Jupiter One-One-Four twisted a knob next to the computer screen. The image of Luther Montoya scrambling to control his ship while combating an onboard fire filled Jess with terror. Her one means of rescue was close to needing his own space leathers. His voice, however, had a calm natural command. “I’ll be there in one minute. Remember, wait until you see the bottom of my ship before you blow the hatch on that satellite.”
Jess turned to her host. “Thank you. I promise to help your people and one day get you off of this floating prison cell.”
“I have a purpose I can believe in now.”
Jess wasn’t looking out the view port when Jupiter One-One-Four opened the hatch unexpectedly. She barely got the mouthpiece back in place as her body was sucked back out into space. As she twisted around, searching for Luther’s ship, she no longer feared the openness of space—the pirate vessels of every make and size that threatened to ram into her were much more terrifying. Luther banked his craft hard upward, snatching Jess in his open air lock.
12
Back in their hotel room, Sam held Jess so tight he could feel her space leathers inflate to combat the perceived bodily threat. “Don’t ever go risking your life like that again. Promise me.”
“You know it had to be done, and neither of us could find another way. I’m sure my adventure looked a lot worse to you than it was for me.”
She was right, of course. But he didn’t have to like it, and he didn’t, not any of it—risking her neck, the surprise gunship, the thousands of near collisions among all the uncoordinated vessels. Arguing the point, however, wasn’t going to change anything. “How did it go?”
“Why don’t we ask Rhea?”
Their Tobe companion, sprawled out on the couch, roused herself from whatever contemplation she’d been engaged in, but instead of answering, she evaporated for a moment. When she rematerialized, Sam could tell something had changed, though he couldn’t identify what. Rhea smiled. “I’ve got a new home. It’s working pretty much as we envisioned. Each of us Tobes that you’ve made contact with over the last few months has made the transition to the freedom network—that’s what we’re calling it. We act as miniature central hubs holding and sharing information. Of course, no single one of us could handle it all, but there are enough of us now to mirror the main network. The more we recruit, the more stable the new network will become.”
“And any Tobe can join the freedom network?” Jess asked.
Rhea shook her head. “For now, they have to be invited by one of us Tobes that Sam first contacted. There’s still a lot of distrust. So many of us have been kept isolated from each other for so long, and controlled by fellow Tobes, that we want to make sure this becomes strong and stable before we open it to everyone.”
“But they all know it exists?” Sam asked. “I’d think a new conduit of information would be hard to hide.”
“It’s hard to
tell what everyone knows,” Rhea said. “For those of us who’ve been in contact with you, it’s obvious because we know about it. But for others? It’s not like we’re constantly monitoring the network connections. It’s more like breathing would be to you—just not something we think about. It won’t take long, though, before everyone knows about it.”
Sam could feel Rhea’s excitement building. There was something she hadn’t disclosed. “Why?”
“What you’ve given us isn’t just freedom from the corporations. What you used to call first- and second-generation Tobes, the ones who were locked in their machines, are no longer bound to those pieces of hardware. Any of us who join the freedom network can be like me, able to step out of their physical prisons.”
The implications forced Sam to sit back deep into the chair. Sophie and Lev had never complained about being bound to their spacecraft, but at times, he’d regretted their limitations. The freedom to materialize anywhere they wanted would be a positive development. On the negative side, he would be at greater odds with the Moons of Jupiter. Any Tobe could up and walk away from their mainframe. Those advanced devices could revert to little more than archaic computers without the Tobes’ involvement.
Jess looked worried. “Between the newly freed Tobes wandering the streets and the network hubs constantly checking their connections, how long before we’re found out?”
“They’re running a diagnostic now, but they don’t know what to look for just yet. They do test the system on a regular basis, so the diagnostic isn’t unusual. It’s actually helpful for us as we can tell where they’re looking. The sooner we can recruit others, the better. It won’t take the Moons long to figure it out. We’ve had one success. But we’re still a small group in one city on one continent of one moon among over sixty moons. We need to decentralize.”